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Buk archive at PBA auction - 4/26/07 (1 Viewer)

There are about five Bukowski lots in the March 15th Modern Lit auction at PBA, but that is just a tease. On April 26th, they are holding the following:

Beat Literature & the Avant-Garde, with an Important Collection of Charles Bukowski

So far, they list a copy of AT TERROR STREET w/ a painting inscribed to Cleveland bookstore owner Jim Lowell and dated in the year of publication and also one of the BSP broadsides. More to come...
 
Or worse... depending on your perspective.
Very frustrating to see all these things I can't afford.
 
Groff was Black Rose Press? Is that correct? He published the AFTERMATH... broadside that you occasionally see floating around on eBay. I don't know anything about the guy and have no idea why everyone has a problem with him, but I trust Bill's judgment of character and if he's got issues with the guy, then I'm SURE they are not unfounded. If it makes everyone feel better, the price estimates he set are completely insane. Nobody in their right mind will pay that kind of money for those books (well, perhaps Vicarious or Nick Lawrence) and he is in for some disappointment. Why $3-5K for BURNING IN WATER 1/50, but $6-9K for DAYS RUN AWAY 1/50??? Same number in the series but double the estimate? Eh?

Incidentally, I've exchanged a few e-mails with John Martin regarding this auction and he and I are both wondering how these "Author Copies" got out on the market. Bukowski has written many poems and stories about "friends" who walked out of his house with his books. I AM NOT ACCUSING Groff of ANYTHING underhanded but, clearly, Bukowski did not part with these books willingly.
 
Bill, David, if you can't comment, maybe you could give us a fictional account of someone named...hmm...Tim Graff, and what he may, or may not have done.
 
Incidentally, I've exchanged a few e-mails with John Martin regarding this auction and he and I are both wondering how these "Author Copies" got out on the market. Bukowski has written many poems and stories about "friends" who walked out of his house with his books. I AM NOT ACCUSING Groff of ANYTHING underhanded but, clearly, Bukowski did not part with these books willingly.

Certainly not disputing the recollection of your exchanges with JM, but he actually pointed me to the auction, explained in not unflattering terms who Groff is (was?), and went on to tell me in some detail what JM thought the Groff collection contained. JM obviously deserves the respect I suspect most of us accord him; that he avails himself as a resource is a gift. He is quite eigmatic, though, no?
 
Bill, David, if you can't comment, maybe you could give us a fictional account of someone named...hmm...Tim Graff, and what he may, or may not have done.

Hi,

Yes, he was Black Rose Editions. Truthfully, I have no knowledge of anything underhanded. I have personal issues with him. Those issues do not have anything to do with anything, except that I find him very unpleasant to deal with. I expect that these books are proabably in excellent condition and are worth buying (just not maybe at those prices).

I would go into it, but it is a personal distaste for him, resulting in an interaction that we had. I probably should have just kept my big mouth shut (or tied my fingers up so that I could not type)..

Bill
 
Maybe the low, but the high is probably too high for the market to bear. If there is no starting reserve, a few of these could go for far too little, or be pulled if a minimum is not reached.

Now, I could be 100% wrong... Who knows.
Bill
 
explained in not unflattering terms who Groff is (was?), and went on to tell me in some detail what JM thought the Groff collection contained.

Mr Groff is (not a was),
A want-to-be 'Great Publisher'
Who is (and was) not well-liked by his muses, gurus, and/or proteges etc.

I've heard various things about him
(Some from members here)
And none of them positive,
But maybe that's what I was soliciting....

Still, I bought his lettered Aftermath production
(not from him, and 'no', the lettered edition isn't all that, it's just the way I buy)
And wouldn't hesitate to chew on some of these
In this upcoming auction....

BTW=> Are these books available for public consumption,
I mean viewing,
Before they hit the auctioneers' "Going once, going twice...."
 
Groff & I started collecting Bukowski around the same time (late 1970s). I had a lengthly phone correspondence with Tom between 1978 -1981 re Bukowski items & he seemed like a very nice guy & a serious Buk collector. He also had a correspondence with Bukowski during these years & was able to somehow have Buk sign copies of his AFTERMATH (1st Separate appearance) I believe against John Martin's admonitions. He was able to obtain these "Author Copies" through various dealer outlets during the early 1980s. He never personally met Bukowski. I subsequently sold my sizable collection in 1984 & lost track of Groff--until a couple of years ago when he e-mailed me & informed me that it was about time to divest of his huge Buk holdings in order to put his son through college. I guess the time has arrived. --Al
 
BTW=> Are these books available for public consumption, I mean viewing,
Before they hit the auctioneers' "Going once, going twice...."

It has always been PBAs policy (as it is with ALL auction houses) to display the books a few days prior to the auction. They could hardly expect the public to pull the trigger on these kinds of prices blindly, that is to say, without examining the goods.
 
Hi,
I don;t know of anyone that would be that interested ibn this lot to pay $70,000 - $100,000 for 60 letters.

Of course, I'm wrong half of the time....

Bill
 
I actually think the low estimate is right on the money. Whether they will sell, who knows.

The 60 letters and the poem manuscripts alone and unrelated are probably worth half the low estimate, but it seems to me that having all of these related letters in one lot increases the value quite a bit, and I don't think the low estimate is out of line. Especially when you consider that one Hemingway letter can set you back $50k.

Could be that we'll look back at this lot in 15 years and think it was a steal. Or they could still be trying to sell it in 15 years. ;)

If I had the money (granted, that's a big 'if,' so this is easy to say) I think I would pull the trigger on this. In the neighborhood of the low estimate, but not the high.
 
Those letters are not part of the Groff archive. They belong to Linda King. I've heard that she's made an attempt to sell them throughout the years but could never actually bring herself to part with them when the time came. I'm not sure these will sell. She may have set a reserve north of $35K. Did you read the item description in its entirety? Fantastic. I only WISH I had this kind of scratch. I would bid without hesitation.
 
PBA Bukowski Auction Catalogue

I am George Fox with PBA Galleries, Auctioneers, Rare Books & Manuscripts and I wanted to let people know that if they email me at [email protected] we will be happy to send a printed copy, when available, of the Bukowski/Beat Literature catalogue free of charge. The catalogue will be on-line at www.pbagalleries.com upon it's completion in another week. Also, I will be happy to answer any inquiries you may have concerning the material or the auction.
Cheers, George
 
Hey, just got my print copy of the PBA auction catalog for The Beat Literature Library of Stephan Ronan & The Charles Bukowski Collection of Thomas Groff, and it is gorgeous. Great B&W photo of Hank pumping gas on the cover. Incredible books, letters, art work. It's a feast. Public viewing at PBA Galleries April 24 thru April 26th. Sale April 26th. I'll be in San Francisco April 28th. Do you suppose it may still be on view then?
 
Surely not once the auction has happened? (26th)
I don't know for sure but would imagine that they'd be displaying items for a future auction by then?
 
PBA Buk Sale

After every sale everything is collected, broken down, and the next sale gets ready for preview. So, last chance to see everything on display is auction day. It is nearly all set up now. First time posting. Really enjoy the site. I became a Buk fan last year after working on the Ed Blair sale. Buks' letters are incredible and it is a real treat to handle them, even if for a fleeting moment. May never see them again but always hope new things come in. There will be some more Bukowski stuff in the May 24 sale too.

If anyone has more questions on the sale or found big mistakes in the cataloguing please let me know. That's how we all learn. Want it true. I know there are a few small mistakes. It was tough sorting it especially when under a big time deadline. Wish I had more time on that. But, you guys can all figure that out.

My email: [email protected]

Thanks for the site and the forum. This is really great.

Tom Lommen (PBA Buk cataloguer/ fan)
 
Buks' letters are incredible and it is a real treat to handle them, even if for a fleeting moment. May never see them again but always hope new things come in.

Well, at least you got to read them! Too bad they'll never be published.
You would'nt happen to have some x-rox copies, would you?...:D
 
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David, Unfortunately the auction exhibition comes down the day after the sale as buyers begin to remove items they have purchased, and shipping begins immediately after people pay with credit cards etc. The good news is, on the front end, the preview is actually set up today, Tuesday, a week earlier than the announced date of Tuesday the 24th, for anyone who happens to be in the area. Stop on by...
Cheers, George Fox
 
i just spent a couple of hours checking out the 'lots' online - incredible collection! i'm assuming anyone interested has already seen it but if you haven't, don't miss it! the excerpts from the linda king letters are something else. she really got under his skin. there's a cool poster from a reading in new mexico among way too much other great shit to mention. good thing i don't have any money to spend on any of it...:rolleyes:
 
the excerpts from the linda king letters are something else. she really got under his skin.
Yeah, this line comes to mind, even your god damned farts have a glory all of their own.

I liked the PBA site better when their high resolution scans weren't watermarked. ;)
 
does anyone know if there will there be a way to see what these auction lots sold for? you know, for us curious nosey types?
 
there's a cool poster from a reading in new mexico...
That is listed as 1960's but it would appear to be from 1970. May 15th only fell on a Friday in '64 and '70 during that general time period, and the poster mentions All The Assholes, so it can't be '64.

May of 1970 is still an early reading, since the first one we have verified was only five months earlier.
 

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